As well as the Player of the Year awards at Saturday's presentation event, there was a very special award as popular kitman Clive Baxter was inducted to the Sutton United Hall of Fame, being presented with his scroll by club chairman Bruce Elliott.
Clive, who has decided to step down from the role at the end of this season, started supporting Sutton as a ten-year-old in 1961 and was soon given the job of tea boy by then manager Sid Cann. He went on to work on matchday stand transfers, and when the club caterer decided to retire Clive and his wife Gill took over and delivered the service for seven years, a period that included the FA Cup tie against Coventry. He also spent twenty years as manager of the Supporters' Club football team, with Adrian Barry as his captain for most of those.
When Paul Doswell took over as manager in 2008, at the suggestion of chairman Bruce Elliott he asked Clive to take on the role of kitman and always said that he proved to be his best signing.
He has fulfilled this role for 16 years and a typical week for Clive now sees him rise at 4.30am for training three days per week, leaving at six and getting home at 1.30 pm. When we play away at the weekend Clive prepares the kit and provisions on Thursday, gets it to the ground on Friday and then loads up the coach. His role includes setting out the kit for the players at the games and also rounding it all up again afterwards to bring back to the club to be laundered, as well as preparing the players for the game by buying their sweets and drinks, and organising their ticketing needs for games.
Some weeks, with midweek and other matches, he can be at the club five or six days and after some long distance away games can get home as late as 5.00am in the morning so, turning 73 this year, it’s fair to say this retirement has been well earned.
Our thanks to Clive for his years of service which richly deserve the recognition of a place in the Sutton United Hall of Fame.
